An Unlikely Encounter

Lorcan Scamander was uncharacteristically nervous. He wasn't used to the strong waves of worry that flowed through him as he sat on the Hogwarts Express for the very first time. Part of his worry stemmed from the absence of his brother. Lysander, who had gone off to search the train for James, used to always make him feel better. His twin would share jokes and laughter and help to distract him from his growing distress. But with Lysander no where in sight, Lorcan was left with nothing to do but stare out the window of the train and panic over his upcoming sorting. What if he was placed in Hufflepuff? What if he was placed in Slytherin?

The compartment door slid open and Lorcan looked up, hoping to see his brother step through with James Potter. Instead, a young girl with straight blond hair entered. Her dark blue eyes were locked on his own, and as she moved closer to him, Lorcan couldn't help but think that this girl looked strangely familiar...

"Oh, hi. Um, how are y-you," he stammered out as the girl marched closer to him. "Do you need a place to si-"

He was forcefully cut off, though, as the girl grabbed his chin tightly in her hands and pulled his face to hers, kissing him hard on the lips. He froze, his eyes widening as the girl pressed herself closer to him, before he slowly began to relax. I think I'm going to like it here, he thought to himself.

As quickly as she'd forced her mouth upon his, the girl wrenched herself back. A small, taunting smile was on her lips as she placed her hands upon her hips and spoke. "Welcome to Hogwarts," she said, giving him a sharp wink. Then she turned on her heel and walked straight out the way she came.

Lorcan sat there for a moment - his mouth wide open, his eyes trained on the door she'd just left through - when once more someone entered the compartment. Only this time, it was Lysander, dragging James Potter along with him. His brother raised an eyebrow as he sat down across from him. "Are you all right, Lorcan? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Which is impossible," James added with a crooked grin. "At least, it is for another three hours or so. Then you'll see plenty of ghosts."

"Too many," Lysander said with a shake of his head. "I reckon there will be too many of them throughout the castle. It'll probably get irritating after awhile."

"It will not! Ghosts will never get irritating. Come on, Lysander! How could you say something so horribly wrong that-"

"A blond girl," Lorcan spoke up. His words came slowly, drawing the attentions of James and Lysander. "Did you pass her in the corridor just now? She had long straight hair-"

"You mean Dominique?" James asked, quirking an eyebrow at his friend.

"You know her?"

"Mate, she's my cousin," James said with a laugh. "Or have you already forgotten? I mean, I know Uncle Bill has been living in France for the past three or four years and we therefore don't get to see Victorie, Dom, and Louis very often. But come on. Surely you must remember her!"

Lorcan's eyes were wide as he listened to his best friend speak. He didn't know what to say. That was Dominique? That adorable, flirty, well-put together child was the same girl as the one who used to tackle the cat and stuff marshmallows in her mouth?

He couldn't believe it. No, it just didn't make any sense... Dominique had kissed him - he had kissed Dominique! She was graceful and lovely... and James' cousin. Oh, James was not going to like this. No, he could never find out.

Lysander, however, was staring at his brother in silence and studying his facial features. After a moment he broke the silence, asking, "Why did you want to know, anyway?"

"Oh," Lorcan said, a tinge of pink raising to his cheeks. "She... she waved at me. As she passed our compartment. I thought she looked familiar, and I was wondering where I knew her from." He let out a shaky laugh. "It's not anything important. Honest."

This was written for the 2012 Hogwarts Games: Road Competition. This fits into my canonization of the NextGen characters - in fact, it is a moment that Lorcan told James, Lysander, Roxie, and Lucy about in another oneshot of mine entitled Graduation. Check it out! I hope you enjoyed this piece; I know that I sure as hell had fun writing this! Please review it and tell me what you think! I'd love some criticism. Thanks!

Cheers!

-Selene